CAUSES OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES

Like the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, geographical discoveries were not made
suddenly. Several factors were at work for a long time, making preparations for the epoch-making
explorations We may briefly examine here the most important factors.
1.Fabulous Wealth of the East: The Oriental countries were rich, and the European travellers who
visited them gave glowing accounts of the fabulous wealth. In the middle ages, the Crusades (from
the 11th the 18th century) brought about a closer contact between the Christians and the Muslims.
Christians were eager to improve their standards of living by earning more. This was possible by
enlarging commercial contacts with the Oriental countries. Trade profits would be huge only if
Europeans were able to discover new routes. Many adventurous sailors, and traders were ready to
risk their lives for realising their ambitions. To the people of Europe, Cathay (China) about which
Marco Polo gave a glowing description became a land of promise.
Prester John was a fabled monarch believed to rule over a powerful Christian land in Asia and
Africa. Prester John was most known for having a vast kingdom of riches, mythical creatures, and
most importantly, Christian people. He was first mentioned by the Otto of Freising in the early
12th century as a powerful Christian king in the East, however, there was no name attached to this
legend. Later, Prester John was identified as Presbyter Iohannes by Pope Alexander III. Because
of this, Prester John can also be referred to as Presbyter John. Two decades later, Presbyter John
revealed himself in a letter published throughout Europe. He became a pillar of hope for Christians
during the Crusades and his kingdom was believed to be a Christian utopia. This letter also sparked
a search for Prester John's kingdom, which advanced European exploration of Asia and Africa.
2. Strong Demand for Oriental Commodities: Consumers in European countries expressed a strong
demand for Oriental commodities. Particularly the demand for Asian spices and slaves was great,
and to meet this demand European sailors and traders were working ceaselessly. The temptations
of the East like silk from China, pepper and cinnamon and other spices from the Indies, cotton
goods precious stones from India, and weapons from Muslim cities made the Europeans brave
death. The use of ice as a preservative was not known, and so there was a great demand for spices.
3 Capture of Constantinople by Turks: The capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine
empire, by the Ottoman Turks was one of the most important factors prompting the discovery of
new sea routes and new countries. The Turks were not tolerant and liberal minded like the Arabs,
their predecessors. They would not easily allow the European merchants to pass through the
countries under their control. It was not worthwhile for European traders go to the East through
the Ottoman empire. The bear closure of the trade routes compelled the Europeans to discover
alternate routes, which could not be by land, but had to be by sea.
For centuries trade was carried to the East through three routes
1) the northern route passing through Central Asia to the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
(2) the central route passing through the Persian Gulf, across the river Euphrates to Syria and to
the Black Sea coast.
(3) the southern route along the Red Sea and passing over land to the Nile and northern Egypt.
These routes were not only long and expensive, but also attended by all kinds of dangers.
Constantinople is located on the Bosporus River, meaning that it lies on the boundary Asia and
Europe. Surrounded by water, it was easily accessible to other parts of the Roman Empire via the
Mediterranean, Black Sea, Danube River, and Dnieper River. The fall of Constantinople was the
end of an era for Europe as it severely hurt traders in the European region. The land route between
India and Europe was closed. The Turks penetrated into North Africa and the Balkan Peninsula.
When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire, a large number of scholars and artists fled to
Italy. This helped to spark the European Renaissance. It also caused the European nations to begin
to search for new trade routes to the Far East, beginning the Age of Exploration.
4. Improvements in Navigation: Improvements in navigation also led to geographical discoveries.
Besides having the adventurous spirit to sail in the unknown seas, sailors had developed much
knowledge, skill and experience in navigation. Here curiously the activities of smugglers and
pirates proved to be very useful in the progress of navigation. As the Renaissance was slowly
unfolding itself, new inventions and discoveries were made, and these were helpful to navigators.
The mariner’s compass with the magnetic needle, the astrolabe, the quadrant, the art of map-
making, and the growth of knowledge in geography and astronomy and the construction of better
ships were useful to geographical explorers. The astrolabe made it possible for a navigator out of
sight of land to know his latitude, and the quadrant enabled him to know the altitude.
5. Increase of Geographical Knowledge: The increase of geographical knowledge also led to
discoveries of new routes and lands Travellers, sailors and lovers of adventure had the advantage
of several books on travel in the 14th century including: (1) A M chant’s Handbook by a Florentine
describing every known land route between the East and the West; (2) Secrets of the Faithful
Crusader by a Venetian describing Asiatic cities. The new knowledge on geography discredited as
false and misleading the old Greek theory, which regarded the earth as flat and the unknown seas
as filled with terrible monsters. The tropical portion of Africa was said to have blazing heat and
was surrounded by boiling water.
6. Love of Adventure: Many enterprising young men came forward to sail to the distant nooks and
corners of the world for the sake of satisfying their keen desire to experience adventure and face
dangers. Profits were undoubtedly tempting, but in several cases the sheer delight of doing brave
deeds drove sailors into the distant seas. Obviously the Renaissance spirit had fired their
imagination.
7. Patronage of Kings: Patronage of kings also went far in the field of geographical discoveries.
Prince Henry the Navigator Portugal (1394-1460) who took great interest in shipping and earned
him the title “Navigator”. Though he himself was not an explorer, he was the motive force behind
the great sailors. His school of navigators engaged the services of the best sailors and geographers.
For forty years Henry was a perennial source of inspiration and guidance to the European sailors.
8. Desire to Spread Christianity: The desire to spread Christianity was another cause of
geographical explorations. The hope of converting the people of the newly discovered countries to
Christianity made kings, nobles and missionaries encourage exploration. Kings of Portugal and
Spain had the ambition of spreading Christianity in the new countries as soon as they were
discovered.
9. Ambition of Non-Italian Traders: In the middle ages the major share of profits of European
trade went to Italy. The merchants of other countries of Europe felt that the Italian monopoly over
Oriental trade prevented them from making huge profit. The only way of improving their trade
prospects was to have direct contacts with the East. This would be possible only if new routes by
the sea discovered.